The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 2
Copyright notice
All rights reserved.
IIBA
®
, BABoK
®
, CBAP
®
, CCBA
®
, ECBA
TM
are registered Trademarks of the International
Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®), Canada.
All trademarks and copyrights mentioned herein are the possession of their respective
owners. We make no claim of ownership by the mention of products that contain these
marks.
Contents of this document should not be disclosed to any unauthorized person. This
document may not, in whole or in part, be reduced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
translated, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical.
This publication may be used in assisting aspirants for IIBA
®
examination.
It does not warrant that the use of this publication will ensure passing the IIBA
®
examination.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 3
Introduction
As the book title suggests, this book is a guidebook for the aspirants of the IIBA
®
certification examinations from IIBA
®
, Canada. We value your time and hence the book is
designed to be extremely specific That is, to help you pass the certification examination
with least possible effort.
This book is authored by qualified IIBA
®
trainers who have helped many other participants
clear the IIBA
®
examinations in the very first attempt. They are also regular trainers for IIBA
®
preparations in both corporate and open-hose workshops and have trained participants
across the world USA, Australia, Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and Africa.
Feedbacks and suggestions on the book
We will be glad and thankful if you can share your feedbacks and suggestions on the book.
Please send your feedbacks and suggestions to Info@AdaptiveUS.com.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 4
Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT NOTICE .......................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 3
FEEDBACKS AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE BOOK .............................................. 3
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 6
WHAT IS IIBA®?.............................................................................................. 6
WHAT IS BABOK®? ........................................................................................ 6
2. CBAP CERTIFIED BUSINESS ANALYSIS PROFESSIONAL ........................................................................... 7
WHAT AND WHY OF CBAP® CERTIFICATIONS ........................................... 7
TARGET AUDIENCE FOR CBAP® .................................................................... 7
ELIGIBILITY FOR CBAP® .................................................................................. 7
CBAP® CERTIFICATION EXAM TIPS .............................................................. 8
3. ECBA ENTRY CERTIFICATE IN BUSINESS ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 13
WHAT AND WHY OF ECBA........................................................................... 13
TARGET AUDIENCE FOR ECBA ...................................................................... 13
ELIGIBILITY FOR ECBA .................................................................................... 13
ECBA QUESTION PATTERN ............................................................................ 14
EXAMINATION WEIGHTAGE KA WISE ......................................................... 14
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION .......................................................................... 15
CERTIFICATION PROCESS ................................................................................ 15
PREPARING THE APPLICATION........................................................................ 15
TIPS FOR THE CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION ................................................ 15
4. CCBA - CERTIFICATION OF CAPABILITY IN BUSINESS ANALYSIS .............................................................. 17
WHAT AND WHY OF CCBA®? .................................................................... 17
TARGET AUDIENCE FOR CCBA® ................................................................. 17
ELIGIBILITY FOR CCBA® ............................................................................... 17
CCBA® QUESTION PATTERN ....................................................................... 18
EXAMINATION WEIGHTAGE KA WISE ......................................................... 18
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION .......................................................................... 18
CERTIFICATION PROCESS ................................................................................ 19
PREPARING THE APPLICATION........................................................................ 19
TIPS FOR CCBA® CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION ....................................... 19
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 5
5. ABOUT ADAPTIVE US INC. ..................................................................................................................... 22
UNIQUE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US .................................................... 23
OUR KEY CLIENTS ............................................................................................ 23
ADAPTIVE WORKSHOPS CATALOGUE ............................................................ 24
ADAPTIVE SUXEED: WORLDS #1 BA LEARNING PLATFORM .................... 25
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 6
1. Introduction
What is IIBA®?
The International Institute of Business analysis (IIBA
®
) was founded in Toronto, Canada in
October of 2003 to support the business analysis community by:
Creating and developing awareness and recognition of the value and contribution of
the business analyst.
Defining the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge.
Providing a forum for knowledge sharing and contribution to the business analysis
profession.
Publicly recognizing and certifying qualified practitioners through an internationally
acknowledged certification program.
What is BABoK®?
Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABoK®) contains a description of generally accepted
practices in the field of business analysis. It gives a guidance on the skills and knowledge that
business analysts must possess. Contents of BABoK
®
have been verified thoroughly by
practitioners. BABoK
®
does not mandate that the practices described should be followed under
all circumstances. Any BABoK® practices MUST be tailored to the specific business analysis
contexts.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 7
2. CBAP Certified Business Analysis Professional
What and Why of CBAP® Certifications
Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) is the business analysis certification provided
by IIBA for Senior business analysts with a minimum of 5+ years of Business Analysis
experience. This is world’s most recognized BA certification. Read more about this here.
The following are some of the benefits of becoming a CBAP
®
:
Be recognized for your competency in BA.
Business analysis is the fastest growing career opportunity for IT professionals.
Better job prospects.
Better salary.
Target Audience for CBAP®
Seasoned business analysts
Business analysis Consultants
Trainers
Current CCBAs
Eligibility for CBA
Minimum 7500 hours of BA-related work in the last 10 years. Minimum 900 hours in
each of 4 of the 6 BABoK
®
knowledge areas.
Professional development: 35 hours of verifiable BABoK
®
coursework in the last 4
years. Adaptive US Inc. is an authorized EEP of IIBA
®
, its trainings provide desired
PDUs for the CBAP
®
certification examination.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 8
References: Two references from a career manager, client (internal or external) or
CBAP
®
. One of the references must be current.
Signed code of conduct.
Adaptive US provides a comprehensive CBAP
®
Application Simulator.
CBAP® Certification Exam Tips
CBAP® Question pattern
Scenario-based (~65-70%) and Case study (~30-35%) examination.
Longer cases (1-1.5 pages) of information having 3 to 5 questions each
Multiple choice answers Only one correct option
120 questions
3.5 hours
Examination weightage KA wise
Domain
% Distribution
Business analysis planning and monitoring
14%
Elicitation and collaboration
12%
Requirements life cycle management
15%
Strategy analysis
15%
Requirements analysis and design (solution) definition
30%
Solution evaluation
14%
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 9
(i) Understand BABoK® Themes
Understand what BABoK® believes to be the right thing for Business Analysis.
Read Adaptive CBAP® V3 Study Guide 2 to 3 times and BABoK® 2 to 3 times.
Understand the role of business analysts from BABoK® perspective.
(ii) Review the knowledge areas
Review understanding of each knowledge area, its purpose, tasks, their purpose, and
elements.
Validate your understanding of KA/processes through Adaptive practice questions
and question banks
(iii) Be happy No memory-based questions
No need to memorize inputs/guidelines & tools /outputs for tasks.
There is no memory based direct questions or match the following type of questions.
(iv) Exam and Question Pattern
Single correct option questions.
Roughly 40% case-based questions.
Some cases can be small paragraphs and some run into 2 pages.
Case based questions require time to go through them.
Mark the case questions in the first attempt and then review them later.
Try completing all scenario-based questions in the first 2 hours. This requires one to
complete ~40-45 scenario-based questions in 1 hour.
Utilize the remaining 90 minutes for case questions + review.
Few questions can be bouncers just dodge them.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 10
Do not leave any question unanswered as there is no negative marking.
(iv) Understand Business analysis techniques
There could be plenty of scenario-based questions on Business analysis techniques, like what
technique is suitable under a given situation. For example, if question is talking about life
cycle of an object, it's state diagram.
(v) Know UML
Understand Data flow diagram, Use case diagram and UML.
Know terms like Extend, Include, Generalization, Inheritance etc.
(vi) Choose right actions
Situations are provided to Business Analysts and they are asked whether (s)he will go
for corrective measure or preventive measure.
Use Adaptive flow charts in the CBAP® study guide.
Adaptive drill and simulations contain large number of such questions.
(vii) Understand requirements characteristics
Learn to identify the missing characteristic in a given requirement.
(viii) Exam and Question Pattern
Simple numerical questions using data presented in a tabular format.
Percentage calculation, per day calculation or revenue/ cost calculations, ROI
calculations.
No Net present value (NPV) calculation.
(ix) Manage time
Take the test in 2
nd
half of the day.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 11
The best day would be after a short break / long weekend.
Visit the exam center prior and confirm with the exam center in-charge.
Take 2 valid government issued IDs with photograph.
Sleep well before the exam night.
Do not try to cram BABoK just before the exam.
Eat lightly. Carry something to eat, if you like chocolates.
Go to the restroom prior to the exam.
Time management is extremely crucial.
Although not complex, case-based questions require significant time.
For case-based questions, focus on the last 2 paragraphs of the case.
For all questions, learn to eliminate irrelevant options.
Take a short (2-minute breaks) after each hour to rejuvenate.
Attempt all 6 simulations available in the Adaptive Question Bank.
(x) Ask for a Calculator
Ask for a calculator at the Prometric Centre.
It’s very useful for calculation-based questions.
(xi) Attempt all questions
Questions are from all parts of BABoK
®
except perspectives.
Attempt all questions as there is no negative marking. You don’t lose anything by
attempting the question which you don’t know.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 12
(xii) Use elimination technique
Use elimination technique to focus on the 2 most likely answers.
(xiii) Be cautious of distractors
Question will be framed in such a way that most of the times it will point out the
similarities between the two, but one or two words will make the difference. Often
very similar sounding words may be used: Work break down structure vs. Work break
down system.
Stick to BABoK terminology make yourself familiar with BABoK vocabulary
document.
(xiv) Identify easy pickings
By taking a close look into the table and data provided in the questions, with basic
maths percentage calculation, day calculation etc. one should be able to crack it.
(xv) Do not ponder over questions for too long
Mark difficult questions for review and come back to it later.
(xvi) Your understanding is vital
Focus on understanding the scenarios/cases.
(xvii) Stick to BABo Do not try to apply your own experiences
Your answers must match BABoK® guideline.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 13
3. ECBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis
What and Why of ECBA
ECBA
TM
stands for Entry Certificate in Business Analysis, the 1st level certification provided by
International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA
®
), Canada (www.IIBA.org).
Following are some of the benefits of becoming a ECBA
TM
:
Be recognized for your competency in business analysis.
Business analysis is the fastest growing career opportunity for IT professionals.
People with domain experience can move into IT sector by becoming a business
analyst.
Better job prospects.
Better salary.
Target Audience for ECBA
ECBA
TM
examination targets the following audience:
Individuals entering the BA profession,
Students enrolled in BA academic programs,
New graduates,
Professionals transitioning careers, and
Functional managers who are not BAs but manage them.
Eligibility for ECBA
Prior business analysis-related work is not required.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 14
Professional development: 21 hours of verifiable BABOK
®
coursework in the last 4
years. Adaptive US Inc. is an authorized EEP of IIBA
®
, its trainings provide desired
PDUs for the ECBA
TM
certification examination.
References: Not required.
Prior knowledge area expertise is not required.
Signed code of conduct is required.
ECBA Question pattern
This will be a knowledge-based examination.
50 multiple choice questions
1 hour proctored online test
Examination weightage KA wise
Business Analysis Knowledge
Domain
Business Analysis & the BA Professional
Underlying Competencies
Business Analysis Key Concepts
Techniques
BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas
Domain
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
Elicitation and Collaboration
Requirements Life Cycle Management
Strategy Analysis
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition
Solution Evaluation
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 15
Additional Information
Application expires within 1 year from approval
3 exams can be taken within a year without requiring any waiting time in between
Certification process
Become an IIBA
®
member at www.IIBA.org.
Benefits include free, unlimited access to the BABOK
®
and 500+ online books, local,
national and international networking opportunities and ability to influence the
growth and direction of the BA profession.
Take required training from an IIBA
®
EEP, such as Adaptive US Inc.
(www.AdaptiveUS.com).
Download BABOK
®
and start reading.
Join a study group, or start one.
Begin preparing for the application.
Preparing the application
Begin the application at least 2 weeks before you plan to apply.
Download and use Adaptive Application Simulator.
Apply within 1 month of when you plan to write.
You can refer application process at IIBA
®
web-site.
Tips for the certification examination
Please keep it in your mind that ECBA
TM
is a test on your knowledge of BABOK
®
, not
your knowledge on BA practice as you may be following in your workplace.
Answers need to be as per BABOK
®
, not what you may think appropriate.
Questions are pretty much straight forward.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 16
No long answers. All questions had single statement answers.
Focus on requirements analysis, elicitation and requirements lifecycle management
Have a mental map of BA activities
Focus on the purpose of the tasks and techniques
Questions with diagrams and calculations are unlikely
Questions are expected to be single sentence questions
Understand the various stakeholder roles
Questions on advanced UML unlikely
Understand requirements characteristics
Questions on inputs and techniques for task
Questions from advanced techniques such as decision analysis financial analysis or
business model canvas unlikely
Understand types of tracing requirements
Avoid answers which are prescriptive. BABOK
®
does not provide any specific level of
rigor to be adopted in any activity.
Be careful with answers which say something should be 100% or 0% - It’s very hard to
find such digital options in life.
Avoid terms which are not mentioned in the BABOK
®
. Such a term can be technically
correct, for example a specific company may have a Wok Breakdown System
however BABOK
®
does not have any such term. BABOK
®
term is Work breakdown
structure.
Multiple options can be technically correct; choose the BEST option.
Do not trust long lists.
Have good internet - Have backup for internet connection
Changing options for answers is difficult, so try to be right the first time
Observe the time elapsed against the progress made
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 17
4. CCBA - Certification of Capability in Business
Analysis
What and Why of CCBA®?
CCBA
®
stands for Certification of Capability in Business Analysis, the 2
nd
level certification
provided by IIBA
®
for business analysts with 2 to 3 years of business analysis experience.
The benefits of becoming a CCBA
®
are:
Be recognized for your competency in business analysis.
Business analysis is the fastest growing career opportunity for IT professionals.
People with domain experience can move into IT sector by becoming a business analyst.
Better job prospects.
Better salary.
Target Audience for CCBA®
Current ECBA
TM
Developing business analysts
Hybrid business analysts (PMs, testers, QA, change managers, designers)
Product owners/managers
Non-BA consultants
Eligibility for CCB
Minimum 3750 hours of business analysis-related work in the last 7 years.
Professional development: 21 hours of verifiable BABoK
®
coursework in the last 4 years.
Adaptive US is an authorized EEP of IIBA
®
, its trainings provide desired PDUs for the
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 18
CCBA
®
certification examination.
References: Two references. (One must be current). References can be Client, Career
manager or a CBAP
®
.
Minimum 900 hours in each of the 2 knowledge areas or 500 hrs in each of the 4
knowledge areas.
Signed code of conduct.
CCBA® Question pattern
This will be a scenario based examination.
Situations are usually described in 2-4 sentences. Some questions can have up to 10
sentences.
130 Multiple choice questions
3 hours
Examination weightage KA wise
Domain
% Distribution
Business analysis planning and monitoring
12%
Elicitation and collaboration
20%
Requirements life cycle management
18%
Strategy analysis
12%
Requirements analysis and design definition
32%
Solution evaluation
6%
Additional Information
Application expires within 1 year from approval.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 19
3 exams can be taken within a year without requiring any waiting time in between.
Certification process
Take the required training from an IIBA
®
EEP.
Become an IIBA
®
member at www.IIBA.org.
Benefits include free, unlimited access to the BABoK
®
and 300+ online books, local,
national and international networking opportunities and ability to influence the growth
and direction of the BA profession.
Download the BABoK
®
and start reading.
Join a study group, or start one.
Begin preparing for the application.
Preparing the application
Begin the application at least 2 weeks before you plan to apply.
It can take anywhere from 6-10 hours to complete.
Download and use Adaptive CCBA
®
application simulator.
Apply within 3 to 6 months of when you plan to write.
You can refer CCBA
®
page for a detailed application process in the IIBA
®
web-site.
Tips for CCBA® certification examination
Please keep in mind that CCBA
®
is a test on your knowledge of BABoK
®
, not your
knowledge on the BA practices that you may be following in your workplace.
Answers need to be as per BABoK
®
.
Focus on requirements analysis, elicitation and requirements lifecycle management
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 20
Have a mind-map of BA activities, inputs and outputs. Adaptive BABoK mind map serves
as a great aid to remember tasks, inputs, outputs etc.
Questions are scenario based
Questions are pretty much straightforward.
No long descriptive questions. However, there are questions with diagrams.
No long answers. All questions have single statement answers.
Focus on the purpose of the tasks
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques
Questions are expected to be 3 to 5 sentences long
Understand the various stakeholder roles
Understand how techniques help in task goal achievement
Understand requirements characteristics
Can expect few questions on inputs and techniques for task
Understand the types of tracing requirements
Observe time elapsed against progress made Target 50 questions per hour
Mark questions for review
Do not get nervous with the first few questions
Avoid answers which are prescriptive. BABoK
®
does not provide any specific level of rigor
to be adopted in any activity.
Be careful with answers which say something should be 100% or 0% - It’s very hard to
find such digital options in life.
Avoid terms which are not mentioned in BABoK
®
. Such a term can be technically correct,
for example a specific company may have a Wok Breakdown System however BABoK
®
does not have any such term. BABoK
®
term is Work breakdown structure.
Multiple options can be technically correct; choose the BEST option.
Do not trust long lists.
Do not over eat just before test
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 21
Go to the rest room prior to the test
Stay cool!
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 22
5. About Adaptive US Inc.
Adaptive US Inc. provides CBAP
®
, CCBA
®
,
ECBA
TM
, IIBA AAC
®
online trainings,
question banks, study guides, simulators,
flash cards, audio books, digital learning
packs across the globe.
Adaptive US Inc. is the only training
organization to offer success guarantee
and all-inclusive plans for its workshops.
Key facts
World’s #1 IIBA
®
BABoK
®
V3 training
organization
World’s largest BA publisher and assessments
provider
Premiere Partner to IIBA
®
, Canada and IREB,
Germany
550+ certified BA professionals
300+ BA workshops 5000+ BAs trained
Our trainers are part of BABoK
®
V3 team
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 23
Unique benefits of working with us
Our key clients
Govern
ment
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 24
Adaptive workshops catalogue
Category
Course Name
Business analysis
Certified Business analyst Professional (CBAP
®
) (Endorsed by IIBA
®
,
Canada)
Business analysis
Certification of Capability in BA (CCBA
®
) (Endorsed by IIBA
®
, Canada)
Business analysis
Entry level certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA
TM
) (Endorsed by
IIBA
®
, Canada)
Business analysis
Agile Analysis Certification (AAC
®
) (Endorsed by IIBA
®
, Canada)
Business analysis
Certified Professional in Requirements Engineering(CPRE-FL
®
)
(Endorsed by IREB, Germany)
For the latest information, always refer to our web-site, www.AdaptiveUS.com.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 25
Adaptive SuXeed: World’s #1 BA Learning Platform
Fully aligned to the new certification scheme from IIBA®.
Learning videos, Audio Books, Study Guides, Mind-maps, Flash Cards, IIBA® application
simulator, Faculty presentations, Exam Tips and Prep plans for IIBA® preparations.
BABoK V3 workbook and glossary
2000+ model questions with answer explanations to test your preparedness.
Online Assessment System with similar features as Prometric Assessment System.
3 levels of questions: Concept, Scenario and Full-length simulations.
Extensive BA library with 200+ articles and 50+ BA templates
Questions prepared by faculties who are in the IIBA
®
question setting committee.
You can register for a free account in SuXeed here: SuXeed.net.
An overview of Adaptive’s SuXeed platform
View your course details, upcoming sessions etc.
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 26
Study Guide section comprising of workshop materials, mind maps, exam prep help,
reference materials etc.
Attempt questions of varying difficulty levels:
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
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Get a real hand experience of the Prometric system of assessment:
100+ e-Learning videos on all KAs and techniques to reinforce your BABoK concepts
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 28
Audio books related to BABoK KAs to recall and reinforce your concepts during your
spare time
Flash cards- A fun way to learn and memorize key terms used in each BABoK KA
The Ultimate IIBA® Exam Guide
© Adaptive US Be IIBA Certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 29
Access all faculty presentations used during the live lectures
Access practical videos, templates, blogs etc. and master the role of a BA using
Adaptive Library
Book

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